‘Alaska misleading public’

As the popularity of vaping grows in Alaska and across the United States, some groups are saying that there’s a lot of misinformation circulating across the state, according to a news story published by an Alaskan NBC News affiliate.

Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, says the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services has been misleading the public about the health effects of using electronic cigarettes.

“Alaska’s department of health has been perhaps the worst on this issue in the country,” Conley said.

Conley said one of the first things he noticed when he first arrived in Anchorage was an ad about the hazards of e-cigarettes. “They were putting out ads and they still are putting ads that tried to deceive the public into believing that, if you’re a smoker, there’s no point in switching to vapor products because they’re just as hazardous,” Conley said.

The AVA also said comments made in October by the department’s commissioner, Valerie Davidson falsely implied that e-cigarettes were just as harmful as regular cigarettes. The state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Jay Butler said those statements were taken out of context. He agreed that vaping may be a good option for a 30-year smoker looking to make a safer change, but said it may be a different story when it comes to young people.